Working Paper: NBER ID: w27018
Authors: Daniel S. Hamermesh
Abstract: Using the 2012-13 American Time Use Survey, I find that both who people spend time with and how they spend it affect their happiness, adjusted for numerous demographic and economic variables. Satisfaction among married individuals increases most with additional time spent with spouse. Among singles, satisfaction decreases most as more time is spent alone. Assuming that lock-downs constrain married people to spend time solely with their spouses, simulations show that their happiness may have been increased compared to before the lock-downs; but sufficiently large losses of work time and income reverse this inference. Simulations demonstrate clearly that, assuming lock-downs impose solitude on singles, their happiness was reduced, reductions that are made more severe by income and work losses.
Keywords: lockdowns; loneliness; life satisfaction; COVID-19; American Time Use Survey
JEL Codes: I12; I31; J22
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| time spent with a spouse (J12) | happiness (I31) |
| time spent alone (J22) | happiness (I31) |
| lockdowns (H76) | time spent with a spouse (J12) |
| lockdowns (H76) | happiness of married individuals (J12) |
| time spent alone (J22) | happiness of singles (J12) |
| time spent with friends or other relatives (J22) | happiness (I31) |